On 27-29 September 2011, the 5th International Conference on Flood
Management (ICFM5) was held in Tokyo, Japan with more than 450 participants gathered from 41 different nations
throughout the world.

Following three days of extensive discussions on the important issues that communities, nations and regions face in
flood management, the participants of ICFM5 declare the following as their own commitment, and appeal to all of the
professionals, managers and decision makers in this important field
as well as the public to carry out such statements for life security, social welfare, and enhancement of land and
water related environmental management. Please click here to continue reading the
Declaration or download it from the following link in PDF
format.

ICHARM, ICFM5 Secretariat organized the 5th International Conference on Flood Management in
Tokyo from 27 to 29 September. More than 450 participants from 41 different nations participated in the
conference.

The call for abstracts and on-line registration found an unexpected success. The ICFM5
Secretariat received 417 abstracts covering all the announced topic areas. More than 250 participants traveled to
Tokyo from outside of Japan to join about 200 other participants who came from across Japan to attend the
conference. The International Scientific Committee reviewed all submitted abstracts for relevance to the ICFM5
objectives. In total, 256 presentations were delivered during the 3-day conference at various opportunities
including plenary sessions, special sessions, oral parallel and poster sessions. A few high-level experts were also
invited to make presentations at the International Forum on Mega-Water Disaster in the first day of
ICFM5.

The ICFM5 started its first day on 27 September at the United Nations University (UNU) in
Tokyo with the welcome address and opening remark by Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, director of ICHARM. Mr. Michel
Jarraud (WMO Secretary General), Prof. Soon-tak Lee (UNESCO-IHP chair), Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi (UNU Vice-Rector)
and Prof. Slobodan Simonovic (ICFM Ad-hoc Committee Chair) also spoke at the opening ceremony.

Plenary Session 1 at the UNU on 27 September

In addition to two plenary sessions on "Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Systems" and
"Floods, Landslides and Debris Flows due to Torrential Downpours", the International Forum on Mega Water Disasters
was held by MLIT and other governmental organizations in conjunction with ICFM5 in the afternoon of the first
day.

The main objective of the forum was to incorporate recent experiences and lessons learned
from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami to ICFM5. Sessions of high-level experts and decision makers were
convened and their discussions were reflected during the conference. His Imperial Highness Crown Prince of Japan
and a few other high-ranking officials including Mr. Mir Changez Khan Jamali, the minister of the Science and
Technology of Pakistan, and Mr. Rogelio Singson, the secretary of the Philippine Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPHW), took part in the event.

The second and third days of ICFM5 were dedicated to special, parallel and poster/exhibition
sessions. All participants received a book of abstract proceedings containing more than 300 accepted abstracts in
both hard copy and digital form. A copy of the first ICHARM book series on "Large-scale Flood reports" as a
contribution to the International Flood Initiative was also distributed to all participants. The conference ended
on 29 September after reading the draft of the ICFM5 declaration and announcing Brazil as the host of
ICFM6.

An Overview to the ICFM5 Technical Program

A) International Forum on Mega-Water-Disaster and two other plenary sessions with 14
oral presentations and discussions:

International Forum on Mega-Water-Disasters (Co-convened by MLIT, WMO, UNESCO, UNU, High
Level Expert Panel on Water and Disaster (HLEP/UNSGAB) ; Supported by Cabinet Office, MOFA,
MOF)

Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Systems (Organized by WMO and UNESCO through
IFI)

Floods, Landslide and Debris Flow due to Torrential Downpours (Co-convened by IWHR,
IMHE-China Academy of Science and University of Leeds ,UK)

B) 8 special sessions with 34 oral presentations and discussions in the following
sessions:

Flood Risk Management Approaches as Being Practiced in Japan, Netherlands, United
Kingdom and United States (Co-conveners: USACE, MLIT, Rijkswaterstaat, Environment Agency)

Practical Steps for Adapting to Climate Change (Convener: ICIWaRM)

Associated Programme on Flood Management 10th Year Anniversary (Co-convened by WMO and
GWP)

Education and Capacity Building in Flood Management (Co-convened by UNESCO-IHE and
ICHARM)

Building Flood Resilient Communities (Co-convened by UNU-ISP and JICA)

Advances and New Directions in Hydraulics of Flood Modeling (Convened by
IAHR-IFI)

Flood Risk Management tools and their application (Co-convened by HR Wallingford and
Deltares)

IDI(Japan) organized meetings with the Minister of Science and Technology of Pakistan
and Secretary of the DPHW of Philippines on 28 September

IAHR-IFI Internal meeting on 28 September

International Flood Initiative advisory and management committee meeting on 29
September

G) Post-conference Technical and Cultural Tours

About 40 participants joined two technical tours for flood risk management to visit Arakawa
and Tsurumi river. About 20 participants also joined a cultural tour of Tokyo.

ICFM5 Outcomes

The ICFM5 statement acknowledges:

Events beyond Expectation such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 11
March 2011

Increasing Complexity of Socio-Economic Systems that the components of socio-economic
activities are increasingly dependent upon each other and the impact of local disasters may quickly extend to
national, regional and global scales through the market network (e.g., supply chains).

Floods are the most extensive and frequently occurring disaster in the world, resulting
in the largest socio-economic impacts to most nations in comparison to all other natural
disasters.

Climate change is a serious factor that acts to increase the flood risk. The intensity
and frequency of torrential rains have markedly increased, as evidenced in Taiwan in 2009 and in Japan in
2011.

It also declares:

Floods: From Risk to Opportunity

Management of Flood Disasters under High Levels of Uncertainty

Flood Management as Part of IWRM

Balance of Structural and Non-Structural Infrastructure

Preparedness beyond Expectation.

Methods of Assessing unexpected, extreme event and Cascading Effects

Scientific Advancement of Prediction

Floodplain Protection

The Statement therefore agrees in the draft version :

Implementation of HLEP/UNSGAB Action Plan. HLEP/UNSGAB's Action Plan on Water and
Disaster is unique in its commitment to implementation. The national and international organizations that
participated in this Conference should make strong commitments to the important items discussed during ICFM5,
including early warning systems, preparedness indices, climate change adaptation and mega-delta
protection.

Spreading the Word. The participants agree to distribute this statement at other key
related international events, such as the 1st Integrated Research on Disaster Risk Conference (Beijing, 2011),
the 6th World Water Forum (Marseilles, 2012), Rio+20 (Rio de Janeiro, 2012) and the 3rd World Conference on
Disaster Reduction (Japan, 2015).

Sharing Knowledge and Experience. Information sharing on the local, regional, national
and international scales is an essential element of the flood risk management process.

Training and Education. The participants recognize the need to promote training and
education related to the field of integrated flood management.

Post-Conference Publications

Final version of the ICFM5 Declaration

PowerPoint files (in PDF or PPS format) of all oral/poster presentations except a few
with no permission from the speakers to do so.

Selected full paper publications from 120 submitted manuscript in the Journal of Flood
Risk Management and IAHS Red Book Series by the mid 2012. We are in the process of sending them to the ICFM5
International Technical Committee for the first round of review. We will contact authors with a manuscript
accepted for the second round of review by the late 2011 or early 2012 (about 60 manuscripts are scheduled to
be selected for the second review). Unsuccessful manuscripts from the first review will be sent back to their
authors in due course.

Acknowledgements

ICHARM would like to extend its deep gratitude and appreciation to the ICFM5 participants for
the faith they had in us and tangible contribution to the success of the conference. We hope it was a fruitful
conference for all of you. Please feel free to send us your comments or inquiries to the ICFM5 Secretariat at
ICHARM.

ICFM International Conference on Flood Management
(ICFM) is the only recurring international conference wholly focused on flood
related issues. It is designed to bring together practitioners and researchers alike, including engineers,
planners, health specialists, disaster managers, decision makers, and policy makers engaged in various aspects
of floodplain management. It provides a unique opportunity for these various specialists to come together
to exchange ideas and experiences.